Spiritual awakening: 12 Nova Scotian distilleries to try

Nova Scotia’s booze scene is spilling over with new and exciting distilleries that punctuate the province with traditional and experimental flavours.

1. Authentic SeacoastEst. 2012, 80 Main Street, Guysboroughauthenticseacoastdistillery.com
Inspired by Guysborough and Nova Scotia's long history in the rum trade, Authentic Seacoast is known for its wax-sealed amber Fortress Rum and a trio of Sea Fever labels—amber, spiced and coffee maple—along with its vanilla-tinged Glynnevan Whisky.

2. Barreling Tide DistilleryEst. 2014, 1164 Parkway Drive, Port Williamsbarrellingtidedistillery.com
Its line of products includes vodka, gin, and
a handful of fruit liqueurs made with berries grown in the Annapolis Valley. Barrelling Tide
is also planning a release of apple brandy
and rye in the future.

3. Caldera DistillingEst. 2013, 65 River John Road, River Johncaldera.ca
Pouring up smooth whisky, both its namesake Caldera label and the Hurricane No 5, along with a full-flavoured dark rum. It's all in the details for Caldera, which grows its grains right on the distillery's property—the gorgeous label for its Hurricane No. 5 is made of birch.

4. Coldstream Clear DistilleryEst. 2015, 87 Main Street W, Stewiackecoldstreamclear.com
While Coldstream has a couple of vodkas, it's the
extensive line of liqueurs that sets this distillery apart. It has creative flavours like salted caramel, coconut, coffee and apple pie, and warm winter flavours like cinnamon, peppermint and candy cane.

5. Covenhoven DistilleryEst. 2015, 311 Old Post Road, Sandy
Coveinstagram.com/covenhovendistillery
Located on a Sandy Cove farm (near Digby) this newb is producing rum, whiskey, vodka and gin and aims to have product available in stores in early 2017. Right now it's just a production facility, but next year Covenhoven hopes to have a distillery that will be open for tastings.

6. Glenora Inn & DistilleryEst. 1990, 13727 Route 19, Mabouglenoradistillery.com
Glenora was the first single malt whisky distillery in North America. By this point nobody in Nova Scotia is unfamiliar with this company. It sells 10-Year, 14-Year, 19-Year and 25-Year aged whiskies and a slew of awards but also boasts the first single malt finished in ice wine barrels, really doubling down on being Nova Scotian.

8. Ironworks DistilleryEst 2008, 2 Kempt Street, Lunenburgironworksdistillery.com
A micro-distillery that is doing a pretty wide range of macro-quality products, from rum, gin, vodka, and brandy to small batch liqueurs, grappa, and its signature eau-de-vie with a whole pear grown in the bottle.

9. Nova Scotia Spirit Co.Est. 2015, Trenton, Pictou Countynsspiritcompany.com
This company is really leaning into their Nova Scotia roots with product names like Blue Lobster Vodka,
Fisherman's Helper White Rum and Willing to Learn Gin. It'll be launching some cucumber-infused gin and
barrel-aged rum and gin for the holiday season.

10. Steinhart DistilleryEst. 2012, 5963 Highway 245, Antigonishsteinhartdistillery.com
Its line is punctuated by brightly flavoured gins and vodkas, using strawberry, cranberry, hasp, maple and habanero. Steinhart also makes organic vodka, and brought home medals at the 2016 New York World Wine and Spirits Competition and 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

11. Still Fired DistilleriesEst. 2014, 9543 Highway 8. Annapolis Royalstillfireddistilleries.com
After starting with corn-based vodka, Still Fired has added flavours like vanilla and Thai chili to the mix. This valley distillery is also going the classic route and producing a couple of Moonshine labels, one of them mixed down with local apple cider and spiced like pie. Also, just added gin to their roster.

12. Tangled gardenEst. 1991 as herb company
11827 Nova Scotia Trunk 1, Grand Pré
tangledgardenherbs.ca
It only made sense for Tangled Garden to make liqueurs to include in its line of jams, jellies, and vinegars. These unique flavours include Damson plum spiked with sweet basil and pear with a hint of rosemary, just to name a few.